


scarred up inside so i built all these walls

by not_a_shark



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Uncharted, F/F, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, adventure au, alternate universe - tomb raider, they are dorks and alex has to deal with it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:14:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28840725
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_a_shark/pseuds/not_a_shark
Summary: Much like Lena’s older brother, she was a scientist by education, but unlike Lex, she steered clear of the family business and instead worked for a rival biotech company. And unlike every other Luthor, there were no tabloid photos, no social media accounts, no mugshots, no indictments, and no sex tape. If it wasn’t for a very dated family portrait as proof of her existence, it would be easy to assume that her last name was just an unfortunate happenstance she laughed about at parties.Her public footprint consisted of a three year old Spheerical Industries staff highlight blurb and a surprisingly candid headshot nestled among the Board of Directors for the national non-profit Girls Who Science. She never attended Luthor Foundation events or served as a proxy for her mother; a role Lex often loved to play. All of which further piqued Kara’s curiosity—and frustration—because on paper Lena Luthor shouldn’t have been grilling her five weeks ago about a previously approved expense report line item and Lena Luthor shouldn’t currently be blocking her way home.“Ms. Luthor, is this a kidnapping?” Kara deadpanned.“Don’t be so dramatic Dr. Danvers. I’d like to discuss a business proposal.” Lena responded calmly.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 22
Kudos: 136





	scarred up inside so i built all these walls

Finally after six years, The Waverider expedition was at its end. The search for the legendary pirate ship had been a joint venture between Legion Expeditions, the National City History Museum, and National City University. Next month the Waverider museum exhibit was set to premiere and Kara was more than ecstatic. Not only was this the first expedition she had led from start to finish, but it was also a groundbreaking discovery with worldwide coverage. 

After having spent the last two weeks prepping for the expedition affiliates’ discussion panel, Kara stood at the front of the largest auditorium at NCU excitedly watching her audience trickle in. Despite attendance being limited to the university staff and students and museum staff and donors, the large auditorium was soon full. She smiled at the museum directors, enthusiastically waved at her university students, and faked her way through a polite acknowledgement to the suggestively winking art historian who had, at one point, been a very regrettable one-night stand.

Among the sea of people, Kara’s gaze fell on an unknown woman—sitting in the third row, just off center—chatting with two of the museum directors. Her black hair was tightly pulled back into a long ponytail and she wore a dark burgundy three piece suit. It was a stark contrast to Kara’s appearance. Well worn black glasses occasionally slid down Kara’s nose, her blonde hair was half pulled back while the rest spilled over her shoulders as it pleased, and she wore a dark blue polo shirt tucked into khaki pants with pizza eating shark socks that peeked out with every step.

The woman’s eyes caught Kara’s and the moment suddenly felt weighted. Kara has had this heavy feeling only a few times in her life. Each resulted in some life changing event. Like when she first held her cat Streaky or the last time she ever saw her parents alive. Usually Kara had a sense of whether the change would be good or bad; a whisper of what to expect. But not this time. This time there was no indication, no helpful heads up. Just an overwhelming sense of lasting significance.

A hurried voice broke through Kara’s thoughts. “Dr. Danvers?”

“Hmm?” Breaking her gaze she turned toward the voice to find her department chair Dr. Dox standing an arm’s length away, fidgeting with his ring.

“Whenever you’re ready to begin.” Dr. Dox tapped the watch on his wrist.

“Oh! Sorry! I spaced out there for a minute.” Kara noticed the growing number of lingering eyes and quickly understood why Dr. Dox was anxious. Before taking her seat, Kara wanted to get one last look at the woman in the burgundy suit, like dog-earring a page to read later. Whatever had hung between them in that moment felt interrupted. Kara glanced back and she wasn’t surprised to find the woman still focused on her; half the audience was focused on her. What did surprise Kara was the smirk that formed on the woman’s face. Kara felt a shiver of excitement. If she wasn’t about to give a two hour presentation, she would have started to work her way through the audience to introduce herself.

Kara forced herself to turn away and she swiftly took her seat at the panel table among her Legion Expedition colleagues. She took a centering breath and then turned on her microphone. “Hello and thank you for attending our presentation on the discovery of the illustrious pirate ship The Waverider. For all the new faces I see, let me first introduce our core team. I’m Dr. Danvers, not to be confused with my sister, Dr. Danvers.” Kara gestured to her right and the audience hummed a soft chuckle as Alex waved. 

“I’m proud to say that this was my first expedition as head explorer.” To her left, Winn voiced a small whoop-whoop of encouragement that brought a smile to her face. 

“My background is in classical archaeology with an emphasis on art conservation. When I’m not out on an expedition you’ll find me lecturing here at NCU or working on various restoration projects for our local museums.”

From the dead center of the front row, the art historian gave a little waggle of her fingers and leaned forward to expose more of her already visible cleavage. Kara felt her face flush slightly and withheld a grimace behind a toothless smile. She made a mental note to avoid directly looking at the first row.

“Here with me today are long-time director of Legion Expeditions and lead historian, Dr. John Jones,” with arms still crossed, John gave a slight nod. “lead archaeologist and doughnut warden, Dr. Alex Danvers.” 

Alex pointed an accusatory finger at Kara. “If I’d let you, you’d eat every doughnut in National City.”

“That is...highly accurate.” Kara conceded. The auditorium filled with a chorus of chuckles. Even John’s face broke into a smile. “And last but not least, senior engineer Winn Schott. If it wasn’t for him, our unmanned underwater vehicles would still be giving Alex heart palpitations.” Winn grinned from ear-to-ear while he and Alex exchanged a high five, over Kara’s head, to another round of laughter. “All joking aside, it is an honor and a privilege to share our passion for uncovering truth and demystifying history with all of you today. So let’s get to The Waverider!” 

Kara signaled for the lights to be turned down. Behind the panel table an oil painting of the Waverider sailing on calm seas was projected on a large screen. “Captain Sara Lance’s flagship was lost at sea in the mid-18th century. Although there have been many stories detailing the ship’s demise, the most infamous account of the ship's sinking was written by the beloved playwright Sir Rory Silver.” Kara flipped to the next slide, a portrait of an older Sir Rory Silver. Bald, bushy bearded, with a single gold earring, and a scar running through a pale eye. “Who before turning to ink and paper to fill his pockets was a privateer under contract with Captain Lance. If we’re to take Sir Rory Silver at his word—as so many had for centuries—The Waverider wasn’t lost, but beaten and dragged down to the depths by the Kraken.” Kara clicked forward to display another oil painting of the Waverider, but this time the ship was engulfed in massive tentacles, its hull cracked in two, and the signature black canary flag floated among the forming wreckage. With the scene properly set, Kara began the expedition debrief.

Kara loved this. She loved every minute of building up an audience with a well woven story; watching people shift in their seats with anticipation; hearing muffled whispers of disbelief or amazement. If people could shine with energy, Kara thought that right now she would burn as bright as the sun. She was proud of their work. And it was something she knew her parents would have been proud of too. She was, after all, carrying on the family legacy.

As the story of their expedition ended, the lights were turned back on to the sound of the audience’s applause. 

“Thank you Dr. Danvers for that enthralling rendition.” Dr. Dox walked up to Kara with an outstretched hand. “Truly remarkable, as always.” After a vigorous handshake, he turned to the audience. “Any questions for our esteemed explorers?”

A litany of hands shot up and Kara began calling on them. Most of the questions were from students. Some confident, some shy, but all eager and excited.

A student with a horizontal striped shirt was focused on the legal aspect: “Since Captain Lance was an English privateer, does that qualify as an exception to the law of finds?” Kara discussed territorial waters, ownership claims, and ultimately how the law of finds still applied to the Waverider.

One of Kara’s graduate archeology students questioned a well known myth: “Do you wrecken that the local legend of Captain Lance surviving the tsunami and living out the rest of her life on the Azores, is true?” John quickly debunked the myth, but pointed out that there is strong evidence Captain Lance’s sister, Laurel, assumed her identity.

A museum staff member was curious about historical averages: “How many ships are estimated to have sunk due to the Lisbon earthquake?” Alex, Winn, and Kara tag teamed the most likely calculation.

An enthusiastic computer science graduate student directed a technical question to an equally enthusiastic Winn: “Mr. Schott, can you expand on your AI gravitational mapping program that located the Waverider and how it interfaces with the Cisco-2 satellite?” Afterward Winn leaned toward Kara with a grin and whispered “Future intern.”

Another one of Kara’s students was curious about restoration efforts: “Water the greatest challenges the team faced in preserving the recovered artifacts?” Alex and Kara answered in unison, “Salt.”

One of the museum curators sought more contextual insight: “Dr. Jones, is there any historical basis in the theory that the Waverider was part of a diplomatic mission that could have prevented the Seven Years War had they not been shipwrecked in 1755?” John happily expanded on the exceedingly growing academic debate.

To Kara’s utter delight all of her students were including puns within their questions. Puns had become a competitive sport in Kara’s smaller graduate classes. There were running tallies during lectures and a comprehensive scoreboard for the year. Individual prizes were awarded to the top three students and a conditional class prize was awarded if the entire class had scored higher than Kara. Each time one of Kara’s students asked their pun filled questions the audience collectively increased their groans and cheers. Which all culminated with Nia, her favorite grad student. 

“Dr. Danvers—” Nia stopped abruptly. “Sorry, I'm so used to saying that. I mean, Dr Alex Danvers.”

Kara clutched her chest in feigned pain. “The betrayal.”

“Oh don’t even!” Nia said with a laugh. “I have asked you plenty of questions over the last two years. Let me grill the fresh blood.”

Kara held her hands up in defeat, turned to Alex and whispered. “Good luck.”

Nia’s eyes returned to the large paper notepad she was cradling. “In the excavation photos, I noticed that rigid and non-rigid grid systems were used to help your sea urchin of the area. Can you explain the porpoise for employing boat methods?”

“Can I reject a question for too many puns?” Alex deadpanned. The audience laughed.

“How are those puns not kraken you up?” Kara grinned. “The moray, the better.”

“Yes!” Nia exclaimed with a delighted cackle as about half the audience groaned.

“Please don't encourage her.” Alex sighed. “We’re carpooling home after this.”

An hour more into the Q&A and Dr Dox once again stood to face the auditorium. “Regrettably our discussion is nearly at its allotted end, but I do believe there is time for one more pun-free inquiry so as not to anchorage a mutiny.” Groans and cheers were equally as loud. 

“I have a question.” The bookmarked woman from earlier spoke up. Her voice was strong and clear. 

“Ms. Luthor, by all means, the floor is yours.”

Of course, Kara thought to herself, she was a Luthor. In this business it wasn’t just impossible not to run into a Luthor, it was inevitable. Expeditions were costly, mostly funded by hard fought grants, wealthy institutions, or the very bored and very rich. Kara had met two of them. There was the austere mother Lilian who haunted the museum circuit like it was her unfinished business and her impish son Lex who had all the charm his mother lacked, but was still just as much of an asshole. They each had offhandedly mentioned a daughter or a sister, but there was never a name. And Kara never cared before now to know what it was.

“Dr. Kara Danvers, not to degrade the significance of your team’s accomplishments, but going over the final expedition costs I found a rather curious line item I’d like for you to clarify.”

Kara was so captivated by Ms. Luthor’s rich voice that her brain short circuited and her only capable reaction was hurried social awkwardness. “Shoot.” Kara paired the phrase with finger guns, which she regretted immediately as Ms. Luthor raised a questioning eyebrow and Alex stifled a laugh.

“The initial budget included the purchase of one ship’s tender. Only a third of the way into your expedition, there was a purchase of a second ship’s tender. Your supplied reason being—” Ms. Luthor read from the tablet on her lap. “—The prior ship’s tender was forcibly decommissioned. I looked back through the submitted expense reports and the original ship’s tender was purchased directly from the manufacturer. Can you elaborate further on how a brand new boat was forcibly decommissioned?”

Kara felt her face start to heat. This was an educational lecture not an expenditure oversight meeting. And yet there were no sideways looks or furrowed brows from any of the stakeholders in the audience. Just supportive silence and patient observance. The Luthor name wasn’t directly tied to this expedition, but their influence and reach was clear. They didn’t have boundaries. Kara had no choice but to play along and hope the inquiry was quick. “Well, it kind of...exploded.”

“The boat exploded?” Ms. Luthor’s emphasis was not reassuring that this would be quick. Out of the corner of her eye, Kara caught Alex gesturing a mini explosion with her hands.

“To be fair nothing covered in that much fire would stay unexploded.” Kara justified with a smile.

Ms. Luthor was transfixed on her tablet, taking notes with a stylus. “And how did the fire start?”

Considering they were barely able to explain this the first time around, Kara was trying her best not to get too descriptive. “I’m not exactly sure. There was a lot of gunfire at the time.”

“Gunfire? Why on Earth was there gunfire?” Ms. Luthor’s note taking pace increased. Kara was curious to know what she was writing and equally concerned as to the reason.

“There was a very minor run-in with some pirates.” Kara was quickly running out of short answers.

“Well that’s uncanny.” Ms. Luthor looked up from her furious note taking. “Are pirates a common occurance on all your seafaring expeditions or just the ones where you’re trying to find them?” Ms. Luthor gave a small mischievous smile that reminded Kara of Lex Luthor and his playful mannerisms.

“Not at all! This was only the second time.” Alex tapped Kara on her forearm and raised three fingers. “Uh, third time? This was only the third time. International waters can be a little unpredictable.”

“Considering that your use of forcibly decommissioned translates to blown up by pirates, I’m not sure if I should presume you’re related to Sir Rory Silver or admonish you for leaving that part out of your presentation.” Ms. Luthor’s statement caused pockets of light laughter to ripple throughout the audience.

“I promise it’s fully detailed in the written report that will be published next month in conjunction with the exhibit. As much as I’d love to talk at length about our expeditions, these forums unfortunately have time restrictions.”

“I look forward to reading this detailed report. It might just turn out to be more exciting than the novel I’m currently reading.” Ms. Luthor finally seemed to be out of questions, but Kara wasn’t sure what to make of her charming playfulness. She wondered what ulterior motives were the driving force behind this particular Luthor.

“Can I help you with anything else, Ms. Luthor?”

“That’ll do for now Dr. Danvers. Thank you.”

Kara felt her face scrunch and her head tilt as she processed the words: for now. A flood of questions rushed through her mind trying to pick apart the meaning until Alex slowly stepped on her foot. Kara shook off the uncomfortable feeling and addressed the audience. “Well then that wraps up The Waverider. Thank you everyone for attending! It was an absolute joy to share this discov-arr-y with all of you. I hope you all have a great afternoon!”

Smaller discussions broke out as people spilled out of the room and into the courtyard. Despite several cursory scans in between conversations, Kara was unable to locate a dark burgundy suit. Ms. Luthor had disappeared as quickly as she had appeared.

After the crowd fully dispersed Alex walked up to Kara, finger guns blazing. Kara had blissfully forgotten the awkward exchange with Ms. Luthor. But of course Alex wasn’t going to let it slide without some level of teasing. It was a sibling’s responsibility.

“Please stop.” Kara begged. 

“At least, you didn’t give her the double thumbs up move.” Alex demonstrated with a wink.

Kara had been notorious for giving a double thumbs up when she was nervous, like after her first kiss, several times during her dissertation defense, almost every time she ordered coffee from her barista crush, and so on. Finger guns were almost an improvement.

“Urgh, don’t even put that energy on me.” Kara playfully pushed Alex. They laughed and fell into step together. Alex was shorter than Kara with straight chin length dark red hair that hid a shaved undercut and her entire outfit, including the Legion Expeditions polo, was black. Her outfits usually involved a lot of black or a leather jacket or both. Most people would probably avoid working with family, but Kara jumped at the opportunity. After her parents died, Kara went into the foster care system. She had blown through seven foster homes in two years before she landed at the Danvers’ doorstep. Alex was the sister Kara needed and eventually Kara became the sister Alex needed.

“It’s too bad the Luthors are solidly connected to our funding.” Alex said.

Kara knew Alex was fishing and decided to avoid the bait. “I think everyone feels that way.”

Alex looked at Kara and rolled her eyes. 

“What?” Kara shrugged.

“Come on Kara. I saw the way you were looking at her.” Alex linked arms with Kara. “Actually, I’m pretty sure everyone saw the way you were looking at her.”

“What? No!” Kara dismissed the accusation. “I spaced out.” 

“Uh huh, right.” Alex poked Kara’s cheek. “And what about the second time? When you looked back at her.”

“Urgh, fine.” Kara conceded. “Sometimes I hate how transparent I am to you. Did I find her attractive? Yes. Did I know she was a Luthor? No.” Kara decided it was best not to mention the weighted feeling.

“Just promise me that you’ll keep your distance. Last thing we need is to get on the bad side of a Luthor.” Alex was right to be concerned, the Luthors were well known for their grudges. Kara was in the second year of her fellowship at the National City Museum of Art when the Luthors moved to National City. As soon as they had arrived, they made a substantial donation to the museum that placed them within the highest donor bracket: The Chairman's Council Leadership Circle. Within six months Lilian Luthor had the senior curator replaced due to ‘mismanaged placard placement.’ If the Luthor daughter was an echo of her mother, then she could be dangerous.

“I promise, I’ll keep my distance. But what am I supposed to do if she tries to contact me? The way she ended the conversation still bothers me. ‘That’ll do for now.’ Who says that?”

“Yeah I thought that was weird too.” Alex paused in thought. “Okay, if she tries to contact you then defer her to John.”

“Hopefully that’ll be enough.”

***

A few weeks later Kara stood outside the National City Museum of Art waiting for the light to change. Having had spent the entire day on her feet running a hands-on restoration workshop for a group of high school students she was ready to walk home, order-in an obscene amount of dumplings, and binge watch a show until she passed out.

Just as the light turned green, a sleek black town car rounded the corner and came to a full stop blocking Kara’s path.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Kara huffed to her warped reflection. “Hey buddy! You can’t just park here!”

The driver calmly got out of the car. He marched past her, opened the back passenger door, and gestured for her to enter. Kara bent down to find none other than a Luthor. Specifically, the daughter, Lena. The three piece suit was gone, but her appearance remained just as striking. Her hair was again tightly pulled back, but this time, into a neat bun. She wore a long black coat with a substantial fur collar that almost hid her chunky silver hoop earrings and her lips were perfectly painted bright red.

After their initial encounter, Kara had done some research. All of which she justified to herself was well within the bounds of her promise to Alex. Much like Lena’s older brother, she was a scientist by education, but unlike Lex, she steered clear of the family business and instead worked for a rival biotech company. And unlike every other Luthor, there were no tabloid photos, no social media accounts, no mugshots, no indictments, and no sex tape. If it wasn’t for a very dated family portrait as proof of her existence, it would be easy to assume that her last name was just an unfortunate happenstance she laughed about at parties.

Her public footprint consisted of a three year old Spheerical Industries staff highlight blurb and a surprisingly candid headshot nestled among the Board of Directors for the national non-profit Girls Who Science. She never attended Luthor Foundation events or served as a proxy for her mother; a role Lex often loved to play. All of which further piqued Kara’s curiosity—and frustration—because on paper Lena Luthor shouldn’t have been grilling her five weeks ago about a previously approved expense report line item and Lena Luthor shouldn’t currently be blocking her way home.

“Ms. Luthor, is this a kidnapping?” Kara deadpanned. An in person encounter was going to be hard to defer to John.

“Don’t be so dramatic Dr. Danvers. I’d like to discuss a business proposal.” Lena responded calmly.

“Now it sounds like prostitution.”

Lena’s clenched jaw gave way to a mischievous smile. “I’m too rich to pick up prostitutes. That’s what a discrete call service is for.” Despite all the effort Lena seemed to put into distancing herself from her family, a sharp tongue was an inheritance she couldn’t avoid.

“I don’t know if I should take that as a joke or not.”

In a single fluid motion Lena raised double finger guns and shot them in silent succession. After the initial shock of witnessing Lena Luthor using finger guns wore off, Kara felt their impact. She slid in next to the only Luthor with a sense of humor—and perhaps a soul—as the door shut behind her. This was definitely not within the bounds of her promise to Alex.

“Where to?” Lena asked.

“Ms. Luthor, you don’t have to—”

“Nonsense. It’s the least I can do for disrupting your afternoon. And please, call me Lena.”

Kara hesitated briefly before meeting Lena’s waiting gaze. Her eyes were green. Bright, but not vivid. Greyish. As if trees and grass could storm. “Fifty-ninth and Steel.”

Lena raised the partition and the car started to move. “Dr. Danvers, we share a mutual interest.”

“Oh really?” Kara chuckled. “And what would that be?”

“Krypton.”

The word alone dissolved Kara’s breath. Nothing good had ever come from Krypton. “I don’t know where you got that idea from, but Krypton is not something I’m interested in. You must have me confused with someone else.”

“I’m not confused.” Lena asserted. “Your name may be Danvers now, but you used to be a Zor-El. I know exactly who you are Kara Zor-El.”

Kara’s mouth hung open. “How did you—I haven’t gone by that name since I was fifteen!”

“Please, it really wasn’t that difficult.” Lena waved a dismissive hand in the air. Her calm attitude was a stark contrast to Kara’s swift unravelment into anger and fear.

Krypton, the fabled floating city that had once been the epicenter of human advancement and was now a thirty minute speculative podcast episode. Her ancestors had openly claimed Kryptonian heritage and despite the ridicule, Krypton continued to be her family’s obsession for generations. As time passed the history of her family’s lineage had shifted from a serious insistence to a humorous mystery told with a wink.

Sometimes the family mystery had brought in clients. When the more respectable archeological work ran dry, Kara’s parents would scrape together curious investors to mount an expedition in search of Krypton. They were never successful. It was a clever solution to keep the business afloat. And it worked for a while until their last voyage, when her parents became just as lost to Kara as Krypton was to the world.

After the death of her parents, her family home was broken into and ransacked, quickly followed by her parents’ work offices. The authorities theorized that one of the investors may have been trying to collect some collateral compensation.

The only family she had left was her older cousin Clark and instead of taking her in, he chose to leave her in foster care. Four years after becoming an orphan, Kara became a Danvers. The anger she felt toward Clark and her parents, sparked her decision to change her name. But ultimately, it was the love she had felt for the Danvers that made up her mind.

“No need to look so conflicted.” Lena reassured her. “Your secret is safe with me. I’m sure you did a little digging of your own. Everyone does.”

“Pssh, with the internet like a normal person! Not whatever it is you did!”

“Excuse you, I did use the internet. It was all very normal.”

Kara narrowed her eyes.

“And only borderline illegal.” Lena added as she reached into her bag on the floor.

“What is wrong with—” All of Kara’s rage extinguished when Lena pulled out a translucent green orb the size of a pool ball.

“I wasn’t about to entrust this endeavor to just anyone. So, yes, unashamedly I bent some rules. But it was necessary.” Lena explained.

The orb was an unmistakable green. Kara reflexively touched the pendant under her shirt. It was the green of her mother’s necklace. One of the very few remaining family heirlooms and the only heirloom made with Kryptonite.

She slowly outstretched her hand toward the orb. Lena, seeming to sense Kara’s hesitancy, gently placed the orb in her palm. The chill of the stone was familiar. Her mother’s pendant was always icy. There were etchings of Kryptonian symbols Kara recognized and some she didn’t. One quarter of the orb was cracked.

“How did you get this?” Kara inquired.

“My mother. She was utterly fascinated by Krypton and was convinced it existed.”

Kara was absolutely confused by the contradiction that was Lilian Luthor. “No offense, but your mother has never come across as interested in anything beyond her social status.”

“Oh god no. Not that insidious gorgon.” Lena spat.

A sharp laugh escaped Kara. “I think she would enjoy turning people to stone. I definitely avoid her like she can.”

Lena looked a little startled by Kara’s outburst. Her blank expression gave way to a small smile. “That makes two of us.” Her smile receded and then she stated very matter-of-factly. “I’m adopted.”

“Well that definitely wasn’t on the legal internet.” Kara teased.

That elicited a larger smile from Lena. “Being the bastard of the family does have its perks in anonymity. Of course the downside is being the bastard of the family, but I think I’ve embraced that rather well.” 

“Do you know how your mother got this?”

“No clue.” Lena’s forehead scrunched and she wrung her hands together. “My deceased mother sent it to me in a package. She’s been dead twenty-eight years and she sent me a fucking package.”

“But that—”

“—can’t be possible?” Lena finished.

“Yeah.”

“Apparently it was a postmortem request. The extremely vague and anonymous letter attached to the package said that my mother had outlined a strict set of conditions to be met prior to my inheritance. There are haikus that convey more information.” Lena reached down into her bag and pulled out a manila folder. “My mother sent me a puzzle box. It took me a few months to crack it. When I opened it I found the Kryptonite ball, an old photograph, and part of some document.” Lena handed Kara the photograph. A group of about ten people were huddled together, their arms wrapped around each other smiling. As Kara looked closer, she recognized four of them: her mom, dad, aunt, and uncle.

Lena pointed to a woman squished between Kara’s mom and aunt. “That’s my mother.” The three of them were the only ones laughing, as if one of them had just told a joke.

“Can I see the document?” Kara’s voice trembled.

Lena handed over a piece of paper that had been torn in half widthwise and was covered in Kryptonian. Kara recognised the emblem adorning the top of the page. The head of a dragon outlined in a diamond shape. “Thorul.” Kara whispered.

“Can you read it?” Lena leaned in closer to Kara, her eyes wide with excitement.

“No, no. It’s been way too long since I’ve read any Kryptonian. But this symbol here, I don’t have to read. It’s one of the thirteen noble houses of Krypton. The House of Thorul.”

“The House of Thorul.” Lena mused.

“Does that sound familiar?”

“It does.” Lena paused. “Dr. Danvers—”

“You can call me Kara. I think we’re well beyond that point.”

“Right. Kara, I want to know what happened to my mother. All this time I’ve questioned it. Doubted what I saw that day. If Krypton is real, I need to find it.”

“My parents died trying to find Krypton.” Kara felt a tear roll down her cheek. It was finally all too much.

Lena placed her hand on Kara’s wrist. “I think my mother did too.” Her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. “Knowing who your parents were, who you are, gave me hope.” She gently squeezed Kara's wrist. “You and I, we could do this together.”

“I...it’s…” Kara struggled to explain her feelings.

“I can pay you and your company. That’s not an issue.”

“No, that’s not…” Kara took an unsteady breath and wiped away fresh tears. “I just...I don’t know if this is something I can help you with.”

Lena clenched her jaw, retreated her hand, leaned back, and settled her gaze out the window.

“Lena,” Kara placed her hand on top of Lena’s, “I am not saying no.” Lena faced Kara again, her previously unshed tears now freely flowing. Kara continued. “This...this is a lot to take in. It’s not a decision I want to make lightly. You’ve had time to think about this and make your decision. I need to do the same.”

Lena gave a small nod and with a voice thick with emotion replied, “I understand.”

“I’ll have an answer for you. I just need time.” Kara handed back the contents of the puzzle box. “I promise.” 

Kara looked out her window and was surprised to find they were parked in front of her apartment building. She hadn’t even realized they had stopped moving. Without another word to Lena, Kara opened the door and stepped out. She was thankful to not have to endure a tense and awkwardly silent ride home. 

“Kara.” Lena called out. Her arm was outstretched with a business card. “For when you’re ready.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Editing credit goes to my friend Skáld. If you enjoyed all the puns, that Q&A scene was created because of Skáld's feedback. 
> 
> Cheerleading credit goes to my friend Netty who I dragged into Supercorp shipping because I wouldn't shut up about it. This fic exists because Netty was always there to encourage me to write on low self confidence days.


End file.
